Michael Jordan VS LeBron James: Who Is #1 The Greatest Basketball Player Of All-Time?

Who Is The Greatest Basketball Player Of All-Time?

This is an argument that will go down in history for a long time. Both of these players are generational players playing in different eras. Slightly different but different. Jordan's generation was not quite as athletic as LeBron's but much more physical and more defensive minded. LeBron is a big physical player at 6′ 8″ and about 260 pounds. Jordan coming in at 6′ 6″ and 215 pounds. Both can jump extremely well. Jordan having an incredible 45 inch vertical jump and LeBron James at around 41-42 inch vertical both far above the NBA average of about 29-20. Both came into the league not being really good outside jump shooters but both in tribute to their insatiable drive to be the best ever improved their outside shooting considerably through their careers. Of course LeBron is still adding on to his career and legacy having just completed 2019-2020 season with another NBA title his 4h in 10 tries while Jordan won 6 titles in 6 attempts

Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James: Regular season stats

Jordan is superior in the scoring department, but James grabs rebounds and dishes out assists at a higher rate. While both players are known for tenacious defense on the wing, Jordan finished first in the league in steals three times in his career. James has not yet claimed a steals title. Jordan also was named 1st team All NBA Defense 9 times and actually in 1988 was named the Defensive Player of the year. LeBron has been named 1st Team all NBA Defense an amazing 5 times also.

In terms of longevity, James holds a clear advantage. The gap in total numbers will widen as long as James stays healthy, and he doesn't appear to be slowing down at age 35.

By The Numbers

Jordan	Per Game	LeBron
30.1	Points	27.1
6.2	Rebounds	7.4
5.3	Assists	7.4
2.3	Steals	1.6
0.8	Blocks	0.8
2.7	Turnovers	3.5
38.3	Minutes	38.4
49.7	Field goal %	50.4
32.7	3-point %	34.4
83.5	Free throw %	73.4

Also add to those numbers Jordan is the All-Time Playoff Points Per Game scoring leader at 33.4 per.

Jordan	Totals	LeBron
1,072	Games	1,265
32,292	Points	34,241
6,672	Rebounds	9,405
5,633	Assists	9,346
2,514	Steals	2,015
893	Blocks	957
2,924	Turnovers	4,424
41,011	Minutes	48,551

The Eye Test

I know that people will show all kinds of “advanced stats” for comparisons and that's fine. But to me the eye test and my instincts as a former player tells me that while both are incredible beyond amazing generational basketball players Michael Jordan is The Greatest Of All-Time. He never seemed to not come through in the clutch. Never, ever came close to shying away from the big moments in the clutch and in the biggest moments under the biggest lights won the NBA title 6 times in his 6 appearances and not only that he was the MVP in all 6 appearances. Crazy to think about.

Impending Outcomes

Also every player that played against him seemed to know that he was eventually going making the big play to overcome them while LeBron's opponents seemed to know they always had a chance even though they all knew LeBron was the superior player to the them he would leave an opening by not taking the big shot and shying away from having to go to the foul line where he was 50-50 at best deep in the clutch. Oh one other point on Jordan about his defense in his prime they did call him The Glove for his defensive prowess.

LeBron's Legacy Continues

Of course Lebron James continues to build on his astonishing legacy. Having won his 4th NBA Title this past COVID-19 shortened season and being teamed up with Anthony Davis and other immensely talented teammates James can add a few more Championships to his resume as well as add to his incredible statistics. With all of that he could very well catch Michael Jordan in my and others books as the greatest basketball player of all-time. You can click here and see my Magnificent 10 List and see where I rank LeBron up to this point in his fabulous career!